


Double Negatives

by chloebeale



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-25
Updated: 2013-01-25
Packaged: 2017-11-26 22:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/654865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chloebeale/pseuds/chloebeale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As they walked Stacie mused to herself how odd this was, the first time she’d really talked to Aubrey outside of Bellas rehearsal, and how easy it was proving to be to talk to the seemingly tightly wound leader. She’d imagined that it would be much more difficult, much less pleasant. But Aubrey seemed normal now outside of rehearsal with her hair down, not yelling about cardio and missed pitches and dance steps. Stacie preferred this Aubrey, she thought as they reached the dorm building.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Double Negatives

She had always been perceptive to other people’s feelings—whether it was their fears, desires, or anything in between. Stacie had a knack for figuring out what made people tick. Most people dismissed her as a dim-witted college girl with slutty tendencies, and though she wasn’t super smart and she did have a lot of sex, they would be wrong to discount her because of it. She often sat quietly in the background, just observing other people when they spoke or even when they didn’t. That was how she’d picked up on Aubrey’s idiosyncrasies.   
  
Stacie wasn’t sure why she was so adamant on the Bellas leader in particular; maybe it was because in so many ways, Aubrey was her direct opposite. Where Stacie was ditzy, Aubrey was intelligent. Where she allowed herself to let go, Aubrey never relaxed. She wanted to help her, and to do so she had to figure out exactly why she did the things she did.   
  
It was no secret Aubrey was controlling. She ruled over the Bellas with an iron fist, insisting that everything be done her way despite any challenges she received otherwise. It was intense being around her; it was like her stress pervaded the air and infected all of them.   
  
From her observations Stacie had picked up two nuggets of information. One was that Aubrey’s puking problem was worse than it seemed. She didn’t always blow chunks, but the younger girl had noticed her holding it back on more than one occasion. She was set off by stress—people questioning her, worrying, arguments—which was understandable, despite being yucky. She wondered if there was more to it than the stress, whether the girl had an eating disorder or not, given that she did seem to work out excessively.   
  
The second thing she’d discovered was the potential root of the issue. Aubrey’s father. She’d mentioned him a couple times, spouting off some really startling phrases that didn’t make much sense—“My father always said, if at first you don’t succeed, pack your bags.”   
  
Of course this statement made no sense to Stacie, but she understood the sentiment. Aubrey’s father didn’t accept anything less than perfection. In his eyes, if someone didn’t succeed on their very first try, that they should give up. That was not the way to raise a child, Stacie thought.   
  
It was the day of the massive fight that she finally decided to step forward and break the barrier between observation and action. Aubrey had fought with Chloe, puked all over the rehearsal space, and then wrestled with her best friend on the floor. If Beca hadn’t walked in…she didn’t want to think about where things had gone. They all had their little chat, and then gone out to the empty pool to make beautiful music together.   
  
Stacie was pleased to see Aubrey letting go a little, and she had to admit Beca’s idea worked well—the two songs blended amazingly and they sounded the best they ever had. When they were finished, everyone went their separate ways. Beca and Chloe walked off together and Aubrey hesitated, looking after them like she was going to follow. Stacie took the opportunity she was given, putting her hand on the blonde’s arm.   
  
“Aubrey…” she said gently.   
  
“Huh? Oh, hey, Stacie,” Aubrey replied, being ripped from her thoughts, “That was great, right?”   
  
“It was. Can I ask you something?”   
  
“I guess. What is it? Do you want a solo?” the blonde assumed Stacie’s question had to do with the Bellas.   
  
The taller girl shook her head, her eyes locked onto Aubrey’s as she took a breath, the chill hanging in the air.   
  
“That’d be awesome, but that’s not my question. I was wondering about your dad. Do you have a bad relationship with him or something? Just…from things you’ve said, he seems a little harsh,” Stacie wondered if she was crossing the line here, it wasn’t like she and Aubrey were great friends or anything and she was asking something pretty personal.   
  
Aubrey was silent for quite some time, her face expressionless as she looked at the brunette.   
  
Finally she broke the silence—“he was,” she murmured quietly.   
  
“Shit, Aubrey, I didn’t…I didn’t know,” Stacie responded, feeling horrible.   
  
“It’s okay, it’s been a couple years,” Aubrey shrugged, leaning against the pool wall, “was that all?”   
  
“I’m just concerned about you. After the whole blow out and the vomit and everything. I was just wondering if your dad’s the reason why you’re so…intense about all this. And whether there’s something else bothering you.”   
  
“In a way he started me on the road to becoming a perfectionist. The stress vomiting thing is something I’ve always done. In the first grade Christmas play I threw up on Santa—and I was playing Mrs. Clause,” she laughed softly, “It’s something I’ve been dealing with for a while. I’m on anxiety medicine so that helps most of the time but sometimes it isn’t enough. As for the something else, uh, maybe.”   
  
Stacie quirked an eyebrow, pulling her jacket closer to her body.   
  
“That’s vague. Why don’t we go inside, somewhere? It’s freezing in here. We could go to my dorm if you want,” she offered with a light smile.   
  
Aubrey agreed, and the two of them made their way to the residence hall where Stacie lived. As they walked Stacie mused to herself how odd this was, the first time she’d really talked to Aubrey outside of Bellas rehearsal, and how easy it was proving to be to talk to the seemingly tightly wound leader. She’d imagined that it would be much more difficult, much less pleasant. But Aubrey seemed normal now outside of rehearsal with her hair down, not yelling about cardio and missed pitches and dance steps. Stacie preferred this Aubrey, she thought as they reached the dorm building. She led the blonde inside, hurrying to her room, eager to continue their conversation.   
  
As she opened the door, Stacie moved aside to let Aubrey in.   
  
“Sorry it’s kind of a mess, I’m the messy roomy in this situation. Pretty sure my roommate hates me,” she said with a smile, slipping off her jacket and her shoes, “not as much as that Asian girl hates Beca, though.”   
  
Aubrey laughed at that, looking around the room and opting to sit at the edge of Stacie’s bed.   
  
“It’s not that bad. I’ve seen worse. My grandma’s a hoarder,” she explained, her eyes drifting over the taller girl’s body as she pulled off her jacket, her torso exposed for a moment, “I wish I looked like you,” Aubrey practically whispered, Stacie barely hearing her words over the sound of the jacket over her head.   
  
“Wait, what?” she smirked, cocking her hip, “You’re friggin’ gorgeous! I’d kill to be a blonde.”   
  
“You should do it. If you want to go blonde, just go for it,” Aubrey smiled; looking relaxed from her spot on the bed.   
  
Stacie approached her and hesitantly sat down beside of her…friend? Were they friends?   
  
“Are we friends?” she asked suddenly.   
  
“What? Duh, yeah, we’re friends,” was Aubrey’s response.   
  
“What’s the thing that’s bugging you?” Stacie questioned after receiving verification of their friendship.   
  
The fact that Aubrey saw her as a friend made her smile a little, because Stacie didn’t really have many friends. Most girls avoided her, saying she was a skank and a homewrecker. Her only other friend was Cynthia Rose, who had an unfortunate and very obvious crush on her. Stacie liked Cynthia Rose, but she didn’t feel that way about her and she couldn’t change that, so even hanging out with her was rare, because of how awkward she felt in her   
  
presence. “It’s Beca.”   
  
“Oh, I should’ve known that,” Stacie had noticed Aubrey’s distaste for the petite deejay.   
  
“No, it’s..not that I don’t like her. She’s actually not as bad as I thought, but, well—Chloe’s in love with her,” Aubrey said with exasperation, “it’s a distraction, for one, and she spends all of her time with her, instead of me, and it’s really frustrating and I just feel so—“ she put her hands in the air, unable to find the word.   
  
“Jealous?” she smirked, “do you have a thing for the ginger?”   
  
“What? I—no, that’s preposterous.”   
  
“Is it, though?”   
  
“I’m not… _gay,_ ” after she said this, Stacie scooted a little closer, placing her hand on the side of Aubrey’s cheek, and Aubrey didn’t pull away, narrowing her gaze, “what are you doing…?”  
  
Stacie didn’t answer, leaning in to press her lips to the blonde’s. The kiss lasted a good fifteen seconds before the brunette broke their mouths apart, a grin coming to her face.   
  
“Did you like that?”   
  
“Why did you do that?” Aubrey shot back, her face reddening.   
  
“Please don’t puke on me,” Stacie pleaded, “just answer the question, did you like it?”   
  
“I didn’t  _not_  like it…”  
  
“Do you like Chloe?”   
  
“I…I might…?” Aubrey finally admitted with a loud sigh, “I’m such a cliché, falling for my best friend. She’d never like me back anyway, so.”   
  
“She’d be crazy not to,” the younger girl pressed.   
  
Aubrey seemed surprised by the statement and she furrowed her eyebrows.   
  
“Do  _you_  like  _me_?”   
  
“…I don’t  _not_  like you,” two could play this game.


End file.
